Southern Miss survives Rice, achieves bowl eligibility

Southern Miss football coach Jay Hopson spoke to the Hattiesburg American following Saturday's 43-34 win over Rice.
Jason Munz/Hattiesburg American

Southern Miss Golden Eagles head coach Jay Hopson watches his team in the second quarter against the Rice Owls at Rice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports(Photo: John Glaser, John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports)

HOUSTON, Texas — What Southern Miss lacked in style points, it made up for with those that actually count.

The Golden Eagles (6-4, 4-2 in Conference USA) overcame a choppy overall performance to pick up a 43-34 win over Rice Saturday at Rice Stadium. In doing so, the team has achieved bowl eligibility for the third year in a row and sent the Owls (1-9, 1-5) to their eighth consecutive loss.

“It’s good to get bowl eligible,” second-year coach Jay Hopson said. “It’s good to get this win. Football’s an up-and-down journey and our guys are battling hard.”

The offense, in particular, found its groove. After scoring just 22 points the last two weeks, Southern Miss tallied more than 40 for just the second time this season. The Golden Eagles scored points on all eight of their possessions and accrued more than 500 yards of total offense.

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Southern Miss quarterback Kwadra Griggs spoke to the Hattiesburg American after Saturday's 43-34 win at Rice.
Jason Munz/Hattiesburg American

“Those guys played lights-out,” Hopson said. “I thought we ran the ball well. I thought we threw the ball well. The offensive staff and offensive players were tremendous. I don’t think we punted all day. Anytime you do that, just kudos.”

In Kwadra Griggs’ return as Southern Miss’ starting quarterback, the redshirt junior was steady, throwing for 331 yards (a career-high) and 3 touchdowns. It was the Greenwood native’s first start since injuring his left hand against North Texas more than a month ago. In the first half, Griggs completed 14 of 21 pass attempts for 201 yards and a touchdown toss to Tim Jones, the first of his collegiate career.

“Kwadra did a great job,” Hopson said. “I thought (sophomore Keon Howard) did a lot of great things when he was playing. But this was the first time with our operation we could give (Griggs) the opportunity to get in there. It wouldn’t have been fair to play him until now. You see what he can do when he’s healthy.”

Griggs stopped short of saying he played 100 percent healthy Saturday but admitted he was pain-free.

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Southern Miss Golden Eagles wide receiver Korey Robertson (18) signals first down after a catch in the first quarter against the Rice Owls at Rice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports
John Glaser, John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports

Southern Miss Golden Eagles running back Ito Smith (25) rushes for yardage in in the first quarter against the Rice Owls at Rice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports
John Glaser, John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports

Southern Miss Golden Eagles head coach Jay Hopson watches his team in the second quarter against the Rice Owls at Rice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports
John Glaser, John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports

Rice Owls head coach David Bailiff and Southern Miss Golden Eagles head coach Jay Hopson talk at mid-field prior to the start of the game at Rice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports
John Glaser, John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports

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Ito Smith also put together a fine day at the office. He ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns, the 21st time he’s topped the 100-yard mark and the 37th and 38th rushing scores of his career. Smith also became just the 10th player in FBS history to rush for more than 4,000 career yards and eclipse the 1,000 yards receiving mark.

The defense, on the other hand, had trouble with the Owls — Nahshon Ellerbe specifically. The Rice running back scored four rushing touchdowns and went more than 150 yards on the ground. It was Ellerbe’s first career 100-yard game.

“The offense definitely bailed out the defense, because the defense certainly didn’t have a good game,” Hopson said. “It’s a team win. Sometimes it goes the other way. But we’ll go back and correct our mistakes. We lost gap a few times and did some other things. But we’ll go back and look at it. I don’t want to say too much without looking at it on film.”

Redshirt freshman linebacker Racheem Boothe led the Golden Eagles with 14 tackles (two for loss) and a sack. He said the defense has to shore up its tackling.

“We’ve got to be better tacklers,” he said. “That’s really the reason they stayed in the game. It’s on us.”

Penalties also contributed to Southern Miss’ ills. One week after committing 14 in a loss at Tennessee, the Golden Eagles were flagged 10 times for 86 yards.

“There were a couple today I’m a lot more upset about personally than I was last week,” Hopson said. “So, yeah, we’re going to do some running on those. I made that promise last week, so I’ll have to live up to my promise.”

Southern Miss gets back on the field at 2 p.m. on Nov. 18, when it hosts Charlotte.